Attendees on the last night of the Event & Arena Marketing Conference at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.

REPORTING FROM AUSTIN, TEXAS — I think it might be time that the Event & Arena  Marketing Conference, or #EAMC2013 as its hashtag reads, considers adding the letter ‘D’ to its name.

What would the new moniker be? The Event and Data Analyst Marketing Conference. After attending this year’s conference, it’s clear that the shift toward ‘Big Data’ and analytics-based decision making has fundamentally changed the way concerts and live entertainment are marketed.

Soon, the ability to communicate will parallel the need to analyze and execute data. Sure, George Strait is going to kill it in any market he plays, but Kate McMahon from promoter TMG-AEG says she spends more time than ever adjusting prices in markets they’ve visited dozens of times. Factor in fan club reports, Twitter feed analysis and sentiment monitoring and suddenly the world or rock and big country has gotten a little, well, geeky.

It’s a big departure from when I first attended EAMC in 2007 in Dallas, when platforms like Facebook and Twitter were relatively new and content was relegated to interns and low level coordinators. Today, Social Media isn't just a powerful communication tool — it's one piece of a larger shift toward a data-centric business model. Marketing a Brad Paisley concert is no longer about getting offers in front of as many people as possible — it’s about identifying engaged fans and deploying them on your behalf, setting the parameters for ad-retargeting to remind (yet not annoy) undecided buyers and, most importantly, analyzing historical and transactional data to find patterns that can eventually improve everything from on-sale times to ticket price.

In short, the shift toward a data-driven economy means marketing is less about speaking to the customer — and instead, trying to learn as much as possible about the consumer.

“If you don’t like change, you’ll like irrelevance even less,” said Doug Ulman, CEO of the Livestrong Foundation who delivered the opening keynote at this year’s conference. Ulman’s organization faced a massive challenge earlier this year when its founder Lance Armstrong appeared on Oprah and admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs. Suddenly one of the organization's primary vehicles for speaking with the public had tragically fallen from grace.

Ulman’s response? Use Livestrong’s own members to tell the organization’s story. Ulman and his team produced a series of incredibly powerful videos from cancer survivors praising programs that help victims of ovarian cancer have children, or provide ride service to low income individuals suffering from cancer.

It’s an imperfect example, although it does illustrate my larger point that knowing the customer and understanding how they holistically fit within one’s organization is becoming increasingly more important than sending out any one particular message. Knowing everything about your customer — how they respond to email campaigns, how often they buy tickets, how they interact with their online community and what they do when they get to your venue — is a massive undertaking, but it’s a job the marketers attending EAMC seem to be up for. Here are some of the ways marketers are changing the way venues interact with their clients.

Influence Measurement

Cara Vanderhook from Staples Center in L.A. explained that while it’s impossible to engage in a conversation with every single fan, the ability to identify influential followers is being powered by new startups that measure fan reach.

Her favorite — Klout, an app that gives Twitter users a score between 1-100 based on follower count, retweets, likes, engagement and share indicators. A plug in lets Klout sit directly on top of Twitter so accounts with large followings can make quick decisions about who to engage and who to ignore.

The next step — monetization of the consumer, both at the individual and top down level. The team at Wells Fargo Center has set a value on each customer in their email database — not only does it generate a dollar-based ROI of marketing campaigns, but it also helps set year-over-year sales goals.

Ad Retargeting

Ticketmaster, Paciolan and other ticketing companies are doing some very cool things with ad retargeting. What began as an effort to buy ads on online exchanges to reconnect with consumers who visited a site but didn’t finalize a purchase has become a cottage industry of microtargeting and data-mining.

In fact, EAMC had its own success with retargeting, generating $1,223 in registrations through a relatively frugal 33,772 impressions. Keep in mind it’s a niche audience and the click-through rate on those impressions was about one-tenth of one percent, but overall the conference still saw a 7-1 return on investment — not bad for an event with a targeted audience.

Keyword Protection

The gaming of search engines like Google is growing more significant as scalpers and secondary market sites try to raise their ranking results for searches of venues, tickets and artists.

Eyal Mintz from Fan Interactive Marketing recommends bidding on hundreds of search terms for venues, and then constantly testing and retesting which terms prompt consumers to buy. Not only will analyzing and testing lead to a better crafted marketing message, it also helps venues outrank scalper sites on Google and lead consumers direct to your business.

Working with a Changing Media

Changes to the newspaper and print industry have meant a large cutback in newsroom jobs — John Bumgardner with Mint Public Relations estimates that four PR professionals exist for every one media professional. Not only is it more difficult to get a story picked up in the local newspaper but, increasingly, publications are asking PR firms to help write and develop pieces. Writing skills and the ability to analyze information and present it as news will become increasingly important in the coming years.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t congratulate this year’s EAMC Award winners. Cliff Clinger, director of marketing with Boise (Idaho) Centre and known to most of his peers as "Promotions Cliff" because that's the way he has always answered the phone during his 25 years in the business, won the highest honor EAMC gives, the Gigi Award. .JT Tepolt from Ticketmaster was inducted into the EAMC Hall of Fame last year, but was unable to attend and accept his award so he was honored this year. This year’s 2013 inductee into the EAMC Hall of Fame was my dear friend and 2012 Women of Influence Award recipient, Vanessa Kromer with Nederlander Concerts. Also inducted into the Hall of Fame were John Urban with the Sports Museum of America in New York and Christy Ricketts Foree with Contempory Research in Dallas. Both were unable to attend this year's conference but are expected to accept the honors at the 2014 conference in New Orleans.

Billy Idol rocks The Shoe outside of the Horseshoe Casino, June 14

Just one month into its maiden season, the new outdoor venue at Cincinnati's recently opened Horseshoe Casino has already begun making waves in town. The nearly 3,800-capacity general admission space, dubbed The Shoe, opened its doors on May 16 with a gig by Las Vegas rockers The Killers that sold out in 20 minutes, giving the city yet another new place to gather for live shows under the stars.

With tickets ranging from $27-$45 for a slate of summer shows that range from Billy Idol to Alice Cooper, Willie Nelson, Chicago and comedian Jeff Dunham, The Shoe has quickly become a welcome addition to the city's burgeoning slate of midsize venues, which also includes Live Nation's 4,100-seat PNC Pavilion.

"The overall entertainment programming strategy is to deliver a diverse mix of music genres that appeal to a wide range of demographics as well as feature the new Horseshoe Casino in the unique outdoor setting of downtown Cincinnati," said Missy Hardersen, Midwest-South Regional Entertainment Director for Ceasars Entertainment. "For the inaugural year of the summer concert series, we wanted to showcase some of the hottest acts as well as some of the favorite, classic acts from the 70s and 80s."

The Shoe has two setups, with most of the first season's 17 shows all general admission, while a select few, such as a recent Huey Lewis & the News gig, featuring a mix of reserved seating and a GA section at the back. Hardersen expected attendance averages in year one to be about 3,000 per show at the venue, which is booked by a division of Austin, Texas' C3 Presents.

So far, the Killers is the only announced sellout and Hardersen said she has gotten lucky so far with the sometimes unpredictable weather at the rain-or-shine open air venue.

"Weather is always a challenging element in the summertime," she said. "Not only rain, thunderstorms, lightning, and wind, but the heat is also a concern. The shows are scheduled rain or shine, however, if lightning and rain are involved, it will be the decision of casino executives and the tour managers to determine if a show is canceled." For canceled shows, Caesars will try to reschedule the date if the artist's itinerary allows it. In the case of severe weather, an evacuation plan is in place and a standing allotment of security and EMTs are on site at every show to tend to guests' needs and to help exit the venue to a safe location in extreme weather.

One of the unique aspects of The Shoe is that it is not only outside, but also at ground level, in a fairly small space. That means that unticketed customers outside of the fence barrier can hear the music loud and clear. That was initially a concern for the Caesars folks, who also were worried about parking. But with ample parking on street lots and a 2,500-space attached garage (which is free to show attendees), those worries have not become major issues.

For each show, a fence is erected around the perimeter of the venue and is wrapped with scrim material that advertises upcoming shows in order to block the view from outside. "This is to ensure that ticket buyers have a unique experience and prevent non-ticketbuyers from lining the fences to get a peek of the performance," she said. "Security patrols the sidewalk around the venue as well as the entrance and exit gates to keep them clear during the show."

There is also another venue indoors, the 1,400-capacity Pavilion, which has been used for sit-down comedy shows by Joel McHale and a gig by the classical singing quartet Il Divo. Outside, the sightlines are excellent from nearly every corner of the well-maintained lawn, as well as from the VIP balcony off of the main casino building. The view is also unique, providing a glimpse of the city's skyline, including the looming city jail just across the street.

Karen Foley, GM of the city's long-running nearly-1,500-capacity club Bogart's, said she welcomes the competition, even if The Shoe isn't, really, competition. "I think it's a great thing for the city," she said. "It's similar to the concept of having one restaurant on a block, which will draw some people. But if you have a bunch, people will flock to it because it will be known for its food. What's happening in the city now is that people are waking up to the idea that it's a music town and more people from Columbus and Dayton are coming down for shows. There's plenty of bands and music for everybody."

To date, Foley said she's seen no negative effect on ticket sales at all and, in fact, thinks that the increased booking profile of the city has made agents and managers pay more attention and think twice about skipping over Cincinnati in favor of other surrounding cities that have drawn more shows in recent years. "I think it's huge," she said of The Shoe's addition to the mix. "We love it and encourage everyone to do music. I say bring it on. UC [University of Cincinnati, located near Bogart's] has 30,000 students, so we could all do a show on the same night and still have students that couldn't fit in!"

Hardersen has counted on a close relationship with local media (and the artists who've been booked at The Shoe) to get the word out on the shows. Those long-established ties to artists have allowed The Shoe to offer unique experiences such as the lucky fan at the recent Billy Idol show who got a signed set list from that night's gig and another who went home with a signed guitar.

"Social media is also a big part of what we do," she said. "We have a Twitter with over 4,500 followers, and our Facebook page has almost 150,000 likes. This allows us to make sure our fans are the first to hear about new concerts, get access to presales, and see photos from the concerts."

Interviewed for this article: Missy Hardersen, (712) 329-6404; Karen Foley, (513) 872-8801

EDC 2012 at the Las Vegas Speedway

Insomniac's Electric Daisy Carnival started out as a kind of minifestival by promoter Pasquale Rotella, celebrating all things dance music. But the 17th annual Las Vegas-based version of the fest has now expanded into what organizers refer to as "EDC Week 2013," (June 18-25), a sprawling series of events that range from club shows, pool parties and after hours gatherings to a beefed-up series of professional workshops and talks at the EDMbiz Conference.

“It has become huge and with it selling out earlier than ever, we’re really ramping up for a great event,” said Thushan Rajapaksa with Staff Pro. The security agency expanded its presence at the festival in 2013, taking over all interior staffing for the event. Last year, the company managed perimeters and the VIP areas.

This year, Staff Pro will be deploying its Executive Services Team, explained Rajapaksa, who said ‘even though it’s going to be 110 degrees, all VIP cabanas will be serviced by team members in full, black suits. It’s a polished look reminiscent of The Strip’s vibrant nightlife scene.”

Another improvement — traffic in and out of  Las Vegas is expected to be smoother after a special route was created for buses, cabs and limos. More traffic attendants have been hired, along with increased participation from state police. 

Organizers are expecting fans traveling to EDC from all 50 states and 46 countries. A full week is hardly enough to contain all the action they have in store. Things kick off on the night of June 18 with a show at the Palazzo's LAVO nightclub with Dutch trance group Dash Berlin. By the next night, the music spreads to five different locations for day and night parties, from the Marquee Dayclub at the Cosmopolitan to the Eclipse at Daylight Beach Club at Mandalay Bay, the Hakkasan at MGM Grand, LAVO and Surrender at the Wynn Las Vegas.

"When we did our deal with Pasquale (Rotella), instead of just giving him sponsorship dollars, we told him we wanted to extend the festival into the midweek and add a conference component, and on all fronts he’s delivered," said Pat Christenson with Las Vegas Events, which provides coordination and hotel services to EDC.

Rolling into the weekend, the June 20 roster explodes to 13 events all over town, 14 on the 21st and 15 the night after. Among the major acts performing on those nights are former Swedish House Mafia star Steve Angello, Afrojack, Avicii, Calvin Harris Skrillex and "Harlem Shake" star Baauer. The Electric Daisy Carnival itself, North America's largest electronic dance festival, will unfold at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway from June 21-23.

The EDMbiz conference was launched last year as the first-ever business forum for electronic dance music, covering topics including social media, licensing, technology platforms and keeping the music and culture credible during a period of massive growth. This year's gathering will take place at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas from June 18-20 and feature a keynote conversation between WME music division head Marc Geiger and Lollapalooza partner Perry Farrell as well as a conversation with CAA managing partner and head of worldwide music Rob Light, who will discuss the agency's global EDM strategy and its relevance to the firm's film and TV business.

Among the other confirmed presenters and speakers: James Barton, president, Live Nation Electronic Music; Bruce Eskowitz, COO of Red Light Management; Shelly Finkel,vice chairman, SFX Entertainment; and Vivien Lewit, director, Content Partnerships Music, YouTube.

The EDMbiz conference package ($499), includes an opening night party on the 18th, and two days of panels, presentations, cocktail receptions, demos and networking, as well as exclusive nightclub parties, a closing night party and entry to a number of other club events during the week.

Interviewed for this article: Thushan Rajapaksa, (714) 230-7223; Pat Christenson, (702) 260-8605

Sponsor Slater's 50/50 grills up its signature burger — made of 50-percent beef and 50-percent ground bacon — for more than 4,500 attendees at Big Bite Bacon Fest in the arena at San Diego County Fair in Del Mar, Calif.

REPORTING FROM DEL MAR, CALIF. — It’s not unusual to be greeted by delicious sights and smells upon entering a fair. This year, the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar, Calif., kicked it up a notch with the Big Bite Bacon Festival, produced by Big Bite Events. The festival was held in the arena on Father’s Day, June 16, and families swarmed to taste the swine.

Big Bite Events’ Mark Entner said that total attendance for the inaugural event, which was sponsored by Farmer John, was more than 4,500.

“It was our expectation that it would be popular, but you never know with a first-time event,” said Entner, who added that around 75 percent of tickets sold at the door.

Attendees received unlimited samples from 29 food vendors, including Chicken Charlie’s, Driveway Chef, Rubicon Deli, and Slater’s 50/50, which also served as one of the event’s sponsors. Breweries came out in full force, providing samples for 50 beers, many of which were local San Diego suds.

Bacon-wrapped pickles from Chicken Charlie's. (Photo by Big Bite Events)

There were two sessions to choose from — one in the early afternoon and one around dinner time — and general admission tickets ranged from $40-$55 depending on if the ticketholder would be drinking, and tickets for VIPs (Very Important Porklovers) ranged from $65-$80. VIPs were able to enter the festival one hour earlier than the general public. VIPs also took home some ‘swine swag,’ including a bag and special tasting cup. Tickets to each session, which lasted a total of four hours, also included entry to the fair itself.

“Being the fourth largest fair in California, it’s always important to us to bring unique and wonderful things to the San Diego County Fair — there’s a reason we had more than 1.5 million people last year,” said Linda Zweig, in charge of media relations and public information for the fair. “Fairs and food and fun are what it’s all about here.”

She said that having food events aren’t a problem with the many vendors at the fair, and that lots of them, such as Chicken Charlie’s, even get involved in the arena events.

It was an easy decision to partner with Big Bite Events due to the company’s history with the fair.

Big Bite Events produced the festival in partnership with the fair, splitting net profits 50-50 with Big Bite Events taking on most of the risk. The company is a foodie-oriented division of Absolute Event Solutions (AES), which has worked with San Diego County Fair to produce the Passport to Savings promotions for a number of years. Entner said it made sense to have the inaugural event at the San Diego County Fair and build the existing relationship, but added that the plan is to expand the event to multiple fairs.

Adrianne Dunvan and Eddie Quinones from Vista, Calif., have a bacon-themed wedding at Big Bite Bacon Fest. (Photo by Big Bite Events)

Big Bite Events staff integrated themselves with the San Diego County Fair working on an almost everyday basis with the marketing department and even attending fair operations meetings.

“We went into this trying to see where it makes sense to promote Big Bite Bacon Festival within the marketing campaign the fair already had, and then we did additional marketing with everything from street teams to social media, print to radio,” said Entner.

Not only did vendors get their booths for free if they sampled food, they got to benefit from Big Bite Events’ marketing efforts.

Rebecca Lynn, in charge of marketing at Rubicon Deli, said that almost everything was taken care of for the deli once they decided to join in for the festival.

“They took care of everything for us, from hand-washing stations to marketing. They even sent us suggestions of what to write on our Facebook page and had opportunities for vendors to be on the radio,” said Lynn.

Ratings wesbite Yelp served as a sponsor in a marketing exchange. Community manager Trish Saunderson had an iPad at her booth with the Yelp app up so that people could stop by and vote on their favorite dishes. Though the people’s choice vote was just for bragging rights, there was a real bacon dish contest with a big prize.

Marine Ryan "Cham-wow" Chamness wins the title of Big Daddy Bacon.

In both amateur and professional divisions, the best dish took home $1,200 and an invitation to the World Food Championships in Las Vegas, as well as a travel stipend. Winners included Ricardo Heredia of Alchemy for the professional division, and amateur cook Jodi Taffel.

Each session had its own entertainment, with Marine Ryan Chamness winning the Big Daddy Bacon male beauty pageant during the first session, and a bacon-themed wedding for Adrianne Dunvan and Eddie Quinones from Vista, Calif., in the second session.

Entner said that the unique, food-related events that Big Bite Events produces helps fairs and festivals stay relevant. Even after eight hours of bacon tasting, not to mention setup and teardown, he’s still reminiscing about the festival’s food.

“I would say my favorite was the bacon-wrapped pickle by Chicken Charlie’s,” he added.

Interviewed for this story: Mark Entner and Kelleigh Stroebel, (949) 514-9659; Rebecca Lynn, (858) 488-3354; Trish Saunderson, (415) 908-3801; Linda Zweig, (858) 792-4262
 

Ovations has introduced two new portable, interactive food and beverage concepts—The Kitchen and The Bar—at the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Convention Center with plans to bring them to all new venues as well as implement them at existing properties. The Kitchen is a modular space where chefs can prepare dishes in front of guests, complete with large overhead adjustable mirrors to give more guests a front-row seat to the cooking action. Like The Kitchen, The Bar is also portable and modular, but for mixologists. The pieces can be set up almost anywhere, as long as there is power to run equipment like refrigeration.

The idea sprouted from comments from Ovations operators that guests enjoy more communal activity, and the traditional banquet setup of small bars and chafing dishes isn’t conducive to social interaction.

“The old way of doing things, for bars, has been that you go and get in line, and you lose contact with people you might have been talking to in order to get a drink,” said Charles Lawrence, Ovations VP of business development. “You stand in a single-file line to get a drink. You don’t talk to anybody. So we asked how we could do it in a better way.”

The Bar, Ovation's mobile beverage concept

The Bar is completely portable, giving the venue the ability to break it up into five separate, smaller pieces that look like the traditional, simple, small bars normally found in a banquet facility.

When put together, however, The Bar is full-service, featuring holding tanks for water and built-in refrigeration. As artisan cocktails and mixology continue to trend, a space to craft out-of-the-ordinary beverage options creates opportunity for upcharging. Plus, “the client is happy because they get a unique drink from the bar,” Lawrence said.

It looks sleek, a far cry from the small, boxy bar normally found at banquets and other events. The Bar has some seating and some space for people to stand. “We wanted it so people feel comfortable elbowing up to it,” Lawrence said.

The Kitchen allows cooking that would normally be done in the back to come to the front of the house, giving guests more interaction with staff as well as the ability to ask questions and customize meals as they’re being made. “It’s a social environment where we have chefs that are talking to our guests in an atmosphere that’s comfortable and relaxed,” Lawrence said. Some of the preparation is still done in the back of the house, such as chopping ingredients, but the majority of it is done in plain sight. “Rolling fresh sushi, sautéing vegetables, dessert prep—it hits the whole gamut.”

Depending on the finishes, The Bar units range between $35,000 and $50,000, and The Kitchen units range between $45,000 and $75,000 to purchase. Event clients are not charged extra to have The Bar or The Kitchen at their event, because the units offer the ability to serve signature menu items and premium cocktails.

The idea falls in line with Ovations’ plan to eliminate chafing dishes in banquet settings and create a more interactive environment, both between guests and servers and among themselves.

Ovations plans to utilize the concepts for tastings with meeting and event planners, and invited community members and event planning professionals to Sioux Falls Convention Center May 14 to experience them. “It was an exciting response and people really like it,” Lawrence explained. “We hear a lot of people saying, ‘We wish we would have thought of this.’”

Interviewed for this story: Charles Lawrence, (813) 909-2178 x 121
 

The Wooden Legacy logo.

While the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., is most known for hosting the National Hockey League’s Anaheim Ducks, it has become a hub for college basketball. The arena has hosted NCAA Tournament games, several UCLA home games per year and an in-season tournament — the John R. Wooden Classic.

Earlier this month, Honda Center announced it will beef up its basketball schedule by hosting the Wooden Legacy tournament during the Thanksgiving holiday. 

The eight-team tournament will combine the John R. Wooden Classic with the Anaheim Classic, which had previously been hosted by the Anaheim Convention Center. 

The opening rounds on Nov. 28 and 29 will be held on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. Honda Center will hold the following rounds and championship on Dec. 1. 

The tournament will be broadcast across ESPN’s networks.

“Having a national partner like ESPN for arguably one of the greatest names in the history of college basketball is a great thing for us moving forward,” Honda Center President and CEO Tim Ryan said. “The fact that we will have a national footprint for this event right away is a huge step up.”

Honda Center, Cal State Fullerton and ESPN agreed to a four-year deal to broadcast the tournament. ESPN has rights to college basketball’s regular season and conference tournaments. 

“The fact that we’re looking at a four-year agreement with ESPN will allow us enough time to grow the reputation of this event and create momentum going forward,” Ryan said. “We’re not looking for a quick fix or instant success, but we think we’re going to build it every year.”

The Wooden Legacy, which first tipped off in 1994 as a way to pay tribute to the legendary UCLA coach, will now feature a field of teams from across the country including successful programs Marquette, Arizona State, Miami and George Washington. 

ESPN will play the main role in selecting which teams will play in the Wooden Legacy. 

“There’s no shortage of teams that want to go to Southern California,” Clint Overby, senior director of Events for ESPN’s Regional Television Network, said. “It’s a great recruiting ground, it has great weather, it has a great basketball marketplace. Bringing in teams has never been a challenge for us.”

ESPN has made major investments in tournaments like the Wooden Legacy, in part because they are logistically easier than sending crews to eight different cities, but also in terms of marketing their coverage.

“The tournaments work on multiple levels,” Overby said. “It works for the fans because it brings great teams together, it works for TV because of the matchups and it works for the schools who come out here early in the season and can find out what their team is made of.”

Tournament officials will look to John Wooden’s former club UCLA to act as a major draw. The Bruins will participate in the tournament in 2016 and, per NCAA rules, will be allowed to participate once every four years. 

Honda Center has played host to UCLA home games in the past. Ryan said their relationship with the legendary program will significantly enhance the tournament.

“They’ve embraced this format and want to make sure they’re part of the event going forward,” Ryan said. “They’ve been a great partner over the years. Like the Wooden family, UCLA has been part of the discussions from Day One.”

Ryan said Honda Center will continue to grow in the basketball arena, in part because of a high level of interest in the market.

“You look at the universities around us,” he said. “There are hundreds of thousands of students and alumni here in Orange County. There are a number of other factors, but that’s certainly one that keeps us interested in listening to anyone who wants to put on a basketball event here.”

Interviewed for this story: Tim Ryan, (877) 945-3946; Clint Overby, (860) 766-2798
 

Chesney performs at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, April 19. (Photo by Erik Kabik)

Kenny Chesney dominated our largest Hot Tickets category with three shows. His largest performance was for more than 50,000 ticketholders at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, and grossed more than $5 million. Shows at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, June 1, and Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., June 15, each grossed more than $3 million. Coming up, the country star plays Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, June 20, and Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, June 22.

Musical Jesus Christ Superstar's Australian tour has been hitting big grosses in our 10,001-15,000 capacity category. The tour wrapped June 15, and charted with five shows at Sydney Entertainment Centre that brought out more than 45,174 attendees. The one-off performance at Brisbane (Australia) Entertainment Centre grossed almost $1 million, with tickets starting at $90. The production begins a U.K. arena tour Oct. 1 at The Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.
 

Celine Dion and Shania Twain are battling it out to see who reigns supreme as the queen of The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. Both superstars have residencies at the venue, with tickets ranging from $55-$250. This chart shows four performances by each diva, with Dion edging out Twain with a gross of more than $1.8 million. Twain brought in nearly 14,000 guests with her four shows.

HOT TICKETS is a weekly summary of the top acts and ticket sales as reported to VT PULSE. Following are the top 20 concerts and events, the top 5 in each seating capacity category, which took place between May 29-June 19.

Joanna Smith

TicketForce has announced the addition of Joanna Smith as business administrator to lead all trade show efforts and marketing coordination. She is the eldest daughter of owners Brad Smith and Lynne King Smith, and has worked for the company in nearly every department since she was a teenager. Smith has worked in bookkeeping, marketing, trade shows, call center, and on-site ticketing support at venues including Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix. Previously, Smith has held positions as a management research analyst for Arizona State University and a research assistant at San Francisco University. She also served in the Teach for America program.

Kay Towner

Event hospitality partner Centerplate has announced the promotion of Kay Towner to senior vice president of Sales and Marketing. Most recently, Towner served as VP of Sales and Marketing. She has been with Centerplate since 2007. Prior to her time with the company, Towner served as VP of Sales, Marketing and Event Services for the Pennsylvania Convention Center. She has more than two decades of catering sales experience at convention resorts in the Sheraton and Marriott organizations and was national director of Sales and Customer Relations for the convention center division of Aramark. 

These bags issued by the NFL will be one of a few options for carrying items in and out of an NFL stadium beginning next season.

REPORTING FROM PALM BEACH, FLA. — “We’re trying to harden our facilities,” said Mickey Farrell, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when addressing the new security procedures that will be instituted by the National Football League in the upcoming season. The first test of the new rules will probably be the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio, he said.

Farrell was one of the speakers on a “lessons learned” panel here during the Florida Facility Managers Association meeting June 16-18. His revelation was that the NFL has decreed fans will be limited in what they can bring inside NFL stadiums on game day to what can be carried in a clear plastic bag, 12 inches by 12 inches with an base not more than six inches wide.

Big bags, large purses, backpacks and even seat cushions are now prohibited, according to a policy change announced during League meetings. Instead, fans can bring in only items if they’re in clear plastic, vinyl or PVC bags. One-gallon ziplock freezer bags and small purses or clutch bags are also allowed.

The new rules are part of the NFL’s All Clear policy, which aims to improve security and shorten line wait times at NFL stadiums.

The NFL is planning to sell clear plastic tote bags that match the size requirements, some emblazoned with the NFL Shield or specific team logos. They currently have 500,000 on order from China, Farrell told FFMA attendees. Target Stores have also jumped on board, with plans to roll out clear plastic bags suitable for sporting and public assembly events in the near future, Farrell said.

The biggest threat to safety is the crowds before coming into the venue, Farrell said. “We’ve focused on nothing getting in, even staffing the air vents. We’ve spent a lot of money, but not on the people outside the gates. The NFL will address that with the new policy.”

During the annual NFL security meeting held in Ft. Lauderdale last month, the planned policy was addressed at length, Farrell said. The NFL will have a massive public relations campaign to educate the public on the new policies closer to the beginning of the season.

Stadium managers were advised to create a buffer zone between the security checkpoint and the ticket gate. People will be allowed to take unwelcome items back to their cars well before even getting to the ticket taker. Farrell is estimating the Bucs will have to add 50-60 personnel to staff those outer gates and to increase the bike patrol. The overall cost will depend on how busy the building is, and the teams in the venue, but “it will cost less than a lot of things we’ve done,” Farrell said. He’s guessing $2,000-$2,500 in additional game day expenses for the Bucs.

Teams will give out the NFL bags early in the season for those who manage to make it to the stadium without knowing about the policy. Later, and even soon at Target, bags will be available from the teams, possibly even sponsored bags, though there will be rules about size and number of logos applied to the clear plastic. Those who do not want to buy a bag can use gallon baggies, much like it works at airports.

NFL security experts also emphasized changing the drill from game to game. “You do not want to be consistent,” Farrell said. “You don’t want anyone to see patterns developing.”

The majority of stadium managers, including Farrell, who have discussed the NFL’s plans have indicated they plan to do this at every event. It will be easier because they can piggyback on the NFL’s big PR campaign. Closer to September, the word will be out and there will be no stopping the progression.

“By the time we get to Monster Jam in January, people will know,” Farrell said of plans to make this a permanent part of stadium policy. “We’re in a different world now.”

The concept alarmed some in the FFMA audience. Bill Powell, Feld Entertainment, asked about how it will impact other Feld events, other than Monster Jam, like Disney Live which draws moms and toddlers with bottle bags. “It isn’t going to work to use a clear bag. Please look at that judiciously for family shows,” Powell said.

Extensive research has been done with the fan demographic in mind, Farrell said. The NFL has been going down this path for quite awhile, well before the bombs carried in backpacks that caused mayhem at the Boston Marathon. The clear plastic bag dimensions are substantial enough to handle most fan needs, even Moms.

“We will implement it at all events to keep it consistent,” Farrell said. “There are large gaps in keeping fans safe and there is a lot of exposure in those crowded gate areas.”

There seemed to be a general consensus that plastic bags at sports and entertainment venues may become as common as baggies at airports, impacting arenas and theaters as well as stadiums. Some elements of the plan are already being adopted by other sports. At American Airlines Arena, Miami, during the NBA Finals, searches were moved away from the building, almost to the street, to create clean areas.

Allen Johnson, Amway Center, Orlando, said his venue tried wanding but it was labor intensive and intrusive. So they invested $100,000 in magnetometers and stopped wanding altogether.

Asked if these new security procedures would possibly decrease the cost of insurance, Farrell saw that as unlikely. Tragedies like Boston mean what can happen is in back of everyone’s mind, including insurance agents’ thinking.

In a follow-up interview on the new NFL policies, Mark Miller, GM for SMG at Reliant Park in Houston, noted, “We’ve been looking at addressing bags for some time.” He received the NFL directives last week and is working with his team to develop a plan to meet the new guidelines.

“The League initiated this new rule and we plan to be compliant,” he said. As for fan reaction, Miller said, “It’s like anything else, you have a new change in policy and fans take a little while to adjust, but I don’t think this will prevent people from enjoying themselves.”

The decision to ban most bags came during the Committee on Stadium Security and Fan Conduct meetings at the NFL’s annual League Meetings in May. The league also plans to continue to implement its pat-down policy, wanding and screening all guests who come in the stadium.

“There will be a secondary perimeter around the stadium where security personnel will check for prohibited items or bags being carried toward the stadium so those situations can be corrected immediately,” reads a document released by the league to teams, outlining the new policy. “This establishes a protected buffer area for fans in plaza-level areas and at the queues for stadium entry.”

Binoculars, phones and cameras are also allowed in the stadium as are blankets for cold weather games “by tossing them over a shoulder or arm as they do in Green Bay. They can be easily screened carrying a blanket into the stadium,” explained the document.

Interviewed for this article: Mickey Farrell, (813) 350-6507; Allen Johnson, (407) 440-7070; Jeffrey Miller, (212) 867-2010; Mark Miller, (832) 667-2000

One camera crew films about 80 appraisals at each event. (VT Photo)

REPORTING FROM ANAHEIM, CALIF. — What could cause excited guests to drive hours from as far as Paso Robles, Calif., to spend a day in line at Anaheim Convention Center? The possibility to discover that their dusty relics could actually be treasures.

Antiques Roadshow brought its beloved, top-rated primetime PBS show to the convention center June 22 to film three episodes, as well as a couple of webisodes and footage for the growing ‘Junk in the Trunk’ feature. The series, produced for PBS by WGBH Boston, rented Halls A & B for a total of nearly 300,000 square feet.

“The Southern California Volleyball Association was in Hall D. We held Hall C on our own to maximize the ‘quiet’ enjoyment of both events,” said Anaheim Convention Center Executive Director Tom Morton, who added that the convention center wanted to minimize noise on the Roadshow set since they were filming. Concessions areas in the halls were open.

The Antiques Roadshow never charges for tickets, instead giving them away online. They also give 250 pairs of tickets to the local public television affiliate, which sells them for pledges.

In Anaheim, 7,600 total tickets were given away, with total attendance hitting just shy of 5,000.

“Everybody can bring two items, and you can be sure everyone does,” said Antiques Roadshow Executive Producer Marsha Bemko.

Between 70 and 80 appraisers travel with the event to provide their services. None of these appraisers is employed by the roadshow, which has a year-round staff of 16. Not only do the appraisers donate their time, they also pay for their own airfare, hotel and food.

“It’s a chance for the appraisers to be exposed to potential brand new, targeted clients,” said Bonnie Winings of Shepley Winings Public Relations Group. “Plus, there’s some cache to be able to say you’ve been on the Roadshow.”

After checking in, attendees head to a 'triage' area where their items are classified by type. There is a line for each type of item that leads to final appraisals. (VT Photo)

About 80 appraisals are taped each tour stop using a three-point camera system that rotates around to three different appraisal areas so that two can set up while the other is being used. Usually around 50 of the on-camera appraisals are used in the three shows.

Antiques Roadshow is seen by nearly 10 million viewers each week and has earned 10 Emmy nominations. In addition to the appraisers who donate their time and the few full-time staff, the local public access television station in each town — in Anaheim’s case it’s PBS SoCal — recruits 120 volunteers. Each volunteer who helps with setup and during the event, receives a free appraisal and lunch.

“We do this show as cheaply as we can but it takes a village, and if we had to pay the volunteers or the appraisers, we simply wouldn’t exist,” said Bemko, who added that she thinks so many people are willing to give their time because the event is fun and everyone learns something. Liberty Mutual and Subaru also serve as cash sponsors for the tours and each has a booth.

For guests, the process can take a few hours from start to finish, depending on the length of the lines for appraisals. Many guests bring chairs or books to make the wait go by more quickly, and the production sets up digital screens that play multiple-choice questions about Antiques Roadshow.

Due to the potentially high-priced or dangerous items, security is a top priority at Roadshow events. Both uniformed and plainclothes police are hired to be on-site at all times. The Roadshow’s director of security is a retired detective who comes to each city early specifically to meet with the police department, hire officers for the event, and check out security at the venue.

The Roadshow group toured the facilities’ security operations center before the event.

“I’m proud of all we do for security, which is such an important aspect of the event and, really, I have to sleep at night,” said Bemko. All guests, many of whom are seniors, are advised not to reveal last names to press or on the air. All antique firearms have to be checked in with police, who make sure the guns are empty, trigger lock them and ensure there is no ammo on site.

Guests wait to have their items appraised. (VT Photo)

Antiques Roadshow tours from June to August each year to tape for the next season, which begins airing in January. This year, the tour has grown from a six-city outing to an eight-city event.

Though Roadshow has been in Los Angeles and Palm Springs in years past, this is the taping’s first time to Anaheim. The number of applications for tickets — 24,278 — was second only to Roadshow’s hometown of Detroit, which saw 28,922 applicants. 

“Any time you can get a first-time event like Antiques Roadshow, it’s great for the building,” said Morton. “Getting Anaheim’s name out in front of millions of people is a great thing. The destination is so well known and well liked that it just further enhances the positive image we already have.”

“To get our name out in front of so many consumers is always positive,” he added. “Maybe next time that audience thinks of a vacation, now Anaheim will pop into their head.”

The tour began at Cobo Hall in Detroit on June 1, will stop at Knoxville (Tenn.) Convention Center July 13, and will wrap the eight-city run Aug. 17 at Greater Richmond (Va.) Convention Center.

Bemko said that the Antiques Roadshow receives requests from cities to visit specific towns

“It’s a great tour to be part of because we’re not controversial and when we come into town, we’re always good news,” said Bemko.

Interviewed for this story: Marsha Bemko and Bonnie Winings, (818) 760-7131 x229; Tom Morton, (714) 765-8950
 

Calling all adventure seekers. AEG Ogden is looking to fill the GM role at one of its most unique global outposts — Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre — which opens in 2016.

Known as the Jewel of Arabia, the small kingdom bordering Saudi Arabi, the UAE and Yemen didn't officially open its borders to tourists until the 1990s. With its beautiful 1,200 miles of coastline, golden minaret lined capital, Muscat, and population of nomadic Bedoiun tribes, Oman has become a tourism and event mecca in the Middle East.

It's also an absolute monarchy and Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said has total control over what many area experts describe as a peaceful and polite nation of 3.8 million. Government-run firm Omran is the developer of Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre, one of the first venues in the region to be LEED Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. The convention center will include a two-tiered auditorium to seat 3,200 and 450. The 236,000-square-foot, column-free exhibition space will be divisible into five separate halls.

This is a unique opportunity to oversee a preopening team in a ‘greenfield’ destination,” said Geoff Donaghy, AEG Ogden group director, convention centers.“The Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre offers both a rewarding and challenging experience and the opportunity to work with a number of internationally-credentialed professionals.”

AEG Ogden is seeking candidates with previous experience in a senior role within the Arabian Gulf region who could take up the position within the coming months.

This will be the seventh venue of its kind that AEG Ogden will oversee in the Middle East and Asia Pacific region. AEG Ogden also operates the Qatar National Convention Centre and is engaged on a consultancy basis for the redevelopment of the Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi.

Carillion Alawi has been appointed as contractor for Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre, which includes a three-story parking garage and Energy Centre. The convention center is being built in two phases, with the exhibition halls completed in 2015, and auditorium, banquet halls and meeting rooms scheduled for completion in late 2016.

Two halls will have customized acoustics plus advanced lighting and rigging to serve as a multipurpose space for plenary sessions, concerts, performances and gala events for up to 10,000 people.

The venue will also include 14 meeting rooms that accommodate between 70 and 360 delegates, two ballrooms that seat up to 2,360, a VIP Pavilion, a food court and a multistoried parking garage that holds 4,000 vehicles.

The design includes concourse areas to facilitate the flow of large delegations, plus floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook landscaped gardens and an outdoor exhibition area.Three hotels, with a combined total of 1,000 rooms, in addition to a business park and retail shopping mall, will be linked to the convention center.

“Omran sought to achieve the Sultanate’s economic diversification vision, which is to protect the environment and deliver long-term benefits to local communities and the national economy,” said Wael Al Lawati, CEO of Omran.

The project in its construction phase will create approximately 6,000 jobs in the region. More than 50 percent of construction expenditure will be spent within the Sultanate to create businesses and jobs in Oman.

“Oman has a solid foundation of active Omani associations and societies that are crucial to the support, with bidding for international conventions,” said Rochelle Uechtritz, AEG Ogden group manager, convention sales development. “Submissions are currently being lodged to host medical and scientific congresses in 2017, 2018 and 2019 that will attract thousands of specialists to the capital city of Muscat.” 

The city of Muscat, which combines ancient and modern architecture, is known as one of the cleanest Arab capitals.

AEG Ogden has been working in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Oman’s key stakeholders in promoting the region for international conventions, meetings and business events. 

Interviewed for this article: Geoff Donaghy, +61 7 3363 3666; Wael Al Lawati, +968 24 391111; Rochelle Uechtritz, +61 7 3363 3666
 

When Nic Adler looks out over the 15,000 people crowding his favorite patch of Los Angeles turf during the annual Sunset Strip Music Festival, he sees not a rock and roll bacchanal, but a neighborhood gathering celebrating the area's legendary status as the launching pad for generations of rock bands.

"It works on our street … we're not one of the bigger festivals, but everyone has a chance to get into the clubs on the Strip and that's what this festival is all about," said Adler, a VP of the Sunset Strip Business Association and one of the producers of the festival. "It's an open house on the Sunset Strip. Lots of people have been to the Roxy or the Whiskey [A Go-Go], but not on the same night. Or they've been to the Rainbow, but not all the different restaurants."

The sixth edition of the Sunset Strip Music Festival, the West Hollywood, Calif., event that celebrates the music and icons who've made the Sunset Strip a world-renowned home of rock and roll, will take place Aug. 1-3. Los Angeles icons Linkin Park will headline the outdoor portion this year, topping a bill that includes AWOLNation, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Logic, Asher Roth, Wale, Finch, Street Drum Corps and rap legends Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh. Among the acts playing inside the venues on the Strip: Warren G, Orgy, Battle Tapes, Sad Robot and Smile Empty Soul.

The SSMF runs on Thursday and Friday nights and culminates on Saturday with a street festival that lasts from 3–11 p.m. and includes a full traffic shutdown between Doheny Drive and San Vicente Boulevard. The street portion of the gathering, the fifth in the event's history, will feature three outdoor stages, beer gardens, an artist autograph tent, outdoor VIP rooftop lounge, silent disco, food trucks and interactive experiences.

Among the new wrinkles this year is the addition of the Viper Room into the closure area, meaning the rock club will be an official participant for the first time after hosting the press lounge and unofficial showcases in the past. The Viper Room will also feature the festival's third outdoor stage with a 750-person capacity.

"This is really a partnership with the city of West Hollywood and it's the best couple of days of the year for [Sunset Strip] during what is usually a tough time in August when there are festivals going on and the Strip is a bit void of bands," said Adler. The Festival undoubtedly gives the Strip a late summer boost and while Adler said it is unclear how much of a direct economic impact it has on the area, the show's backers have asked for a study this year to calculate that figure.

General admission tickets are $79 (available through official ticketing provider, Eventbrite) and $145 for the VIP option, which includes access to the rooftop VIP area with views of the West stage, VIP areas in the beer garden and venues, access to VIP lounge On The Rox, a separate entrance and additional perks. (A limited number of three-day VIP passes are also available for $250, with access to all three nights of music in the venues pending capacity, the Saturday street festival and an exclusive tribute event celebrating Joan Jett on Aug. 1.)

A significant portion of this year's ticket sales will go to the nonprofit disaster relief organization Music For Relief. Adler would not talk about overall budget figures or talent costs, but said compared to such major events as Coachella, they spent "one to three percent" of what the majors do, likening it to a "community event disguised as a big time festival."

Rock icon Joan Jett has been a major part of the history of the Sunset Strip through her work with early group The Runaways as well as with the Blackhearts and her solo hits. She will be celebrated at an exclusive VIP event on Aug. 1 at the House of Blues, where she'll receive the "Elmer Valentine Award," and then perform a full set with the Blackhearts.

Festival Executive Director Todd Steadman said that while the 15,000-attendance figure keeps the event manageable and not overcrowded, plans are in place to expand it in the near future. "We will be looking at elements like a film and conference component," he said, likening the expansion to the scope of the South By Southwest Music Festival.

"We've gotten so much notoriety for closing down the boulevard and it's important for us to have the support of the businesses, the residents and the city to make it happen," said Steadman. That means not only getting the venues, sheriff's department, fire and public safety forces on their side, but also making sure the surrounding residential neighbors are not negatively impacted by the shutdown.

The festival has hired Steve Portigiani for that job, tasking him with developing a plan that allows residents who live near the Strip to have access before, during and after the festival. "There is a large cost involved with closing down the Strip, which is a major artery in the middle of Los Angeles," Steadman said. "But the community loves the event and the businesses, residents and city love it, too. There are a lot of people who move near the Strip for a reason, they want access to world-class entertainment."

Adler said 75 percent of attendees are from the Los Angeles and Orange County area. He also noted that the mostly volunteer-driven event has occasionally eked out a small profit, but that that money is plowed right back into the next year. "We look at the money we lose as an investment," he said, adding that he expects the fest to be around for 20-30 more years. "We don't have a Live Nation or AEG behind us, so when we make money it goes straight back into the Sunset Strip marketing initiative."

Part of this year's marketing plan includes a deal with Clear Channel that will offer 12 flyways from markets across the country including Boston, Chicago, Miami and Dallas that will bring contest winners to the show with VIP passes to meet Linkin Park, win a Gibson guitar and stay at a hotel on the Strip. Adler said that the SSMF has also used its status as a city-sponsored event to get discounted rates on digital billboards through CBS and Clear Channel around Los Angeles. Combined with local newspaper buys and a partnership with local station KTLA, Adler projected the marketing spend at $50,000-$75,000.

Among the 2013 official sponsors are Jack Daniel's, Bud Light, Monster Energy, Eventbrite, Gibson Guitars and Clear Channel Outdoor.

Contacted for this story: Nic Adler and Todd Steadman, (310) 659-7368

Tessitura President Jack Rubin and his wife Marilyn wrap a successful flight on the USS Midway simulator at last year's Tessitura Learning & Community Conference in San Diego, Calif. (VT Photo)

Representatives from some of the world’s most prestigious arts organizations and venues are set to descend on the Northern California Bay Area for the annual Tessitura Learning & Community Conference, July 14-18, at the San Francisco Marriot Marquis.

The annual summertime confab is a chance for Tessitura users from around the world to gather and learn about updates to their business software platforms, train and use new product rollouts and, most importantly, share successes and lessons learned with their fellow Tessitura brethren.

“We’re dedicated to presenting best practices from arts organizations,” said Jack Rubin, president of Tessitura. “The relevancy of what can help them run their businesses changes every year and to keep up, we're helping them tackle everything from understanding how to turn data into dollars to developing methods for building new audiences.”

Conference planners are expecting 1,400 attendees this year — with many organizations bringing 12 or even 20 employees including executives and VPs of revenue, development, marketing, finance and even operations. Rubin describes the turnout as “the largest gathering of cross-genre, cross-department, cross-function, cross-size, cross-geography” arts and facility professionals.

TLCC also goes deep on programming with over 200 sessions over its four-day run— often running concurrently in groups of 10 to 15 at one time. Attendees and teams game-plan their strategy for dividing and conquering the most important sessions at the conference, which utilize a variety of formats. Peer-to-Peer Presentations like “Digital Philanthropy,” “Creative Uses in Nontraditional Departments” and “Quickfire Tips and Tricks for Data Analysis” are delivered by users documenting specific success stories, and then discussed with the audience in an open dialogue. Topics are also presented as traditional conference panels, as well as smaller discussion groups. TLCC’s Labs and its Executive Track offer the opportunity for targeted learning.

TLCC is organized and planned by a “user planning committee made up of primarily end users who bring forward ideas and feedback, decide on topics and work on the outline of the presentation,” said Don Youngberg, Tessitura’s VP of Community & Learning Resources and Conference Chair. The planning committee and its various subcommittees include about 125 members, and each year 200 to 300 Tessitura users serve as speakers and presenters.

“One of the trends we are seeing is that more and more people are stepping forward and saying they have new ideas for programming.” Youngberg said. “They’re excited about the opportunity to give back to the Tessitura community.”

“And most people tell us that when they get home, they have an entire year — sometimes more — of ideas and best practices to implement,” added Rubin.

This year’s keynote speaker is author Luke Wroblewski, author of “Mobile First,” which details the importance of building mobilecentric business solutions and understanding the convergence of sales, interaction and marketing into a single touchpoint and device.

“He’ll discuss interacting with the whole consumer, as a customer, prospect and donor,” Rubin said, creating a Tessitura-enabled 360-degree view that “builds engagement, thus building additional revenue.”

Wroblewski’s address will be followed by a deep-dive look at the nuts and bolts of the technology behind “Mobile First.”

Users will also get a chance to participate in Tessitura’s Technology Roadmap, sandbox testing and training on Tessitura v12, “our biggest functional release in history.”

In 2012, the company completely updated the architecture of its ticketing platform, which then paved the way for Tessitura v12 which, Rubin said, “supercharges our functionality across all departments. The first phase is in beta right now — much of what the users will see at the conference is new.”

That includes new graphic-centric configurations, advanced pricing capabilities, and a smart messaging engine for rules-based, automatic updates.

The conference opens with a huge banquet and networking event at San Francisco’s City Hall and Davies Symphony Hall and ends July 17 with a networking gathering at the California Academy of Sciences, which includes a performance by the Tessitura All Volunteer Rock Band — a musical outfit made up of individual Tessitura users.

“It’s a major punctuation mark for the Tessitura community and it encapsulates the giving spirit that takes place every day at TLCC,” Youngberg said.

Contact: Jack Rubin & Don Youngberg, (888) 643-5778 

An arena financed by AEG and MGM Grand is tentatively to be built on this parking lot behind the New York-New York Hotel.

After several road blocks and false starts, AEG appears to be closer than ever to building a world-class arena near the Las Vegas Strip as part of a new privately financed joint venture with MGM Resorts International.

“What’s new is that this is the farthest along that we’ve been with this project,” said AEG Vice Chairman Ted Fikre, who also serves as AEG’s Chief Legal and Development Officer. “We and MGM have committed to fund the equity needed to make this happen — in the past, the arena project was predicated on a business plan with a significant contingency and even contemplated a flow of public money,” he said. “This time we’re not relying on public money and we have a business plan that doesn’t rely on an anchor tenant.

Construction on the $350-million arena should start next summer on land that MGM Resorts owns between the New York-New York and Monte Carlo resorts. Completion is expected by spring 2016.

Venue architecture firm Populous is the lead designer on the project, and Senior Principal Chris Carver explained the company planned to rethink the way the event industry looks at premium seating and hospitality areas for entertainment and sports events, drawing from the high-end bottle service and concierge service of Las Vegas’ best hotels.

Without a tenant team, the new arena will be open to hosting a bevy of international award shows, championship sporting events and special concert runs, with a clientele demanding a venue experience “that will redefine amenities and premium offerings tailored to the demanding Las Vegas market,” Carver said.

Fikre said MGM Resorts and AEG will augment their equity contributions with private third-party financing from lenders and investment banks. Naming rights are on the table.
The arena is expected to be a centerpiece of an outdoor pedestrian mall featuring restaurants and retail shops stretching from Las Vegas Boulevard to Frank Sinatra Drive, visible from Interstate 15.

“Part of what makes this site unique is that it's right off the strip and very attractive to out of town businesses looking to stage close to world-class hotels and casinos,” Fikre said. “There are many large events that come to town, and even if the event is not at the arena, there are so many opportunities for ancillary events.”

The fate of a similar arena proposal by casino company Caesars Entertainment Corp. on land it owns on the other side of Las Vegas Boulevard, remains unknown. And an earlier proposal by AEG to build an arena with gaming company Harrah’s is officially dead, although the proposal had been considered shelved by many in Vegas for some time.

"Once you've got spectators going through the turnstiles the race will be over," said David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "But this definitely looks promising. Not only is MGM buying into it, but also an outside company that knows arena management."

AEG and MGM are still working on designs with firm Populous and needs to get approval for several entitlements and permits to build the arena. Fikre said construction on the ground can begin once AEG has selected a contractor and closed financing on the project.

"I think it’s an exciting new project in Las Vegas," said Daren Libonati, an independent entertainment executive formerly with Justice Entertainment Group. Libonati helped open the the last major arena  built in Sin City — Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"At the time people laughed at the idea that an arena could make any sense in Las Vegas," Libonati said. "We couldn't get acts like Neil Diamond to play the Strip because the attitude was that artists went to Vegas to retire. Eventually the old model of entertainment began to change and now most hotels on the Strip have changed the way they look at the entertainment experience."

Libonati said the project "is creating more diversity under the MGM umbrella while providing more opportunity to the marketplace. They can now maximize square footage of their other two arenas (the MGM Grand Garden and the Mandalay Bay Events Center — and run three concurrent large events at the same time. Big conventions today are increasingly looking for arenas to use for large keynote presentations."

Interviewed for this article: Ted Fikre, (213) 763-7700; Chris Carver, (816) 221-1500; Daren Libonati, (702) 813-5345

Fans wait in line to take a photo and create a commemorative personalized ticket, one of the interactive stations StubHub set up in the newly-renamed facility. (VT Photo)

REPORTING FROM CARSON, CALIF. — Though the naming rights deal at StubHub Center in Carson became official June 1, the unveiling of the new name and signage happened at the LA Galaxy versus Portland Timbers Major League Soccer match, June 19. Before the curtains dropped and the new blue and orange StubHub Center sign was revealed, executives involved took part in a press conference, addressing the new partnership between StubHub and the facility, which just celebrated its 10th year.

“It’s hard for me to explain just how important this is for our company. There are lots of companies that put their names on the side of a building and call it a sponsorship and they end there, but that’s not our vision,” said StubHub President Chris Tsakalakis.

Tsakalakis said that StubHub’s goal is for every fan to have a fantastic experience at the venue from the time they buy their tickets to the time they leave an event.

StubHub’s commitment to being part of a fun experience was evident upon walking through the gates. The company introduced the Ticket Oak’s Backyard area with turf and chairs, highlighted by a large screen that alternated between showing Ticket Oak, the StubHub mascot, and Instagram photos from attendees. Fans added the hashtag #StubHub to their Instagram posts in order to interact with the installation and have their photos show up on the monitor, which played the soccer game during match time.

There were also several branded ‘Make Your Own Commemorative Ticket’ stations throughout the facility. Fans could take a photo and receive both a printed and digital version of their personalized ticket to the day’s game.

Beckerman addresses the crowd. (VT Photo)

AEG CEO Dan Beckerman called StubHub and AEG “like-minded companies” during the press conference. 

“We hit it off immediately,” Beckerman added. “We share a common vision and from those initial meetings grew a broad and comprehensive partnership between AEG, StubHub and their parent company eBay.”

LA Galaxy President Chris Klein recalled how exactly StubHub first won him over during meetings six months ago.

“What struck me was not the innovative company that StubHub is or the amount of growth they’ve had as a company. What struck me was that they sat in our suite and all they wanted to talk about was the game,” he said. “They wanted to talk about soccer, talk about the Galaxy and our players and the championships we’ve won.”

“That makes me excited to have a partner like StubHub that we can move into this next generation with,” Klein added.

In addition to the new name, there could be other exciting changes ahead for StubHub Center.

LA Galaxy supporters called the Angel City Brigade cheer in front of the new signage. (VT Photo)

Beckerman met with Venues Today after the press conference to speak about potential long-term plans for the venue, which he’s been part of since he drove around the construction site on a golf cart back in 2002 trying to figure out where everything was going to go.

He said that AEG has looked into growing the relationship with Cal State Dominguez Hills, working with them on educational programs and partnering with them when it comes to sports management. StubHub Center is located on 125 acres of the CSU Dominguez Hills campus.

“We’re always looking to expand facilities, also,” said Beckerman. “There’s real estate around here and we have an appetite to grow, and there are things that I think could benefit both us and the university in terms of additional training facilities or additional construction projects on- site.”

More details about future facility projects on-site should be solidified sometime next year.

VT Reporter Jessica Boudevin's commemorative ticket. 

In more immediate changes, Beckerman revealed that StubHub is in the process of developing a mobile app for the venue, and that AEG has been looking at making investments in companies in the sports, venue and technology space.

“There’s actually one we’ve already invested in related to servicing fans in the hospitality area called ByPass,” he said, adding that eBay and StubHub are co-investors in the company.

ByPass, which provides mobile points of sale, will roll out in StubHub Center’s premium seating areas, including the new Champions Lounge, July 4.

“We won’t exclusively serve AEG venues, although it is one of the focuses of our partnership and their investment to upgrade their POS technology in their buidings,” said ByPass President Brandon Lloyd, who added that many venues have outdated POS technology and will soon be making a decision on investing in it.

He added that typical POS hardware cost $4,000 per register. ByPass Mobile runs on tablets, which cost just $299. All in all, venues can cut their investment in POS technology by 75 percent, he said.

Pepsi Center in Denver deployed ByPass recently and generated a return on investment on hardware and software in 30 days, Lloyd continued. The implementation of the technology at StubHub Center will be about half the size of Pepsi Center’s.

The company’s smaller tablet solution will be implemented for club and premium seating. ByPass’ 10-inch tablet solution, used for ringing customers up and running tabs, will be used at the Champions Lounge, the new lounge experience from which fans can actually see the players walk from the locker room to the pitch.

“It provides an added level of access that’s unprecedented,” said Kyle Waters, assistant GM at StubHub Center.

Membership to the Champions Lounge includes either a club or fieldside seat, preferred parking, and free food, beer or wine. Memberships are sold on a three-year term, with club seat options running $3,850 per year and fieldside seat options priced at $4,400 per year.

Interviewed for this story: Dan Beckerman, (213) 742-7155; Chris Klein, (626) 432-1540; Brandon Lloyd, (512) 291-6192; Chris Tsakalakis, (415) 222-8494; Kyle Waters, (310) 630-2006

Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. has selected Levy Restaurants as exclusive restaurant partner at the Global Center for Health Innovations and Cleveland Convention Center in downtown Cleveland.

 “We believe that Levy’s inventive culinary approach and proven excellence in creating memorable dining experiences is what will bring our shared vision to life for all of our guests,” said MMPI Senior Vice President Jim Bennett, in a press release issued June 18.

The new Cleveland Convention Center includes 225,000 square feet of exhibit space, 35 meeting rooms and a 32,000-square-foot ballroom with a dining capacity of 1,700. The Global Center for Health Innovations contains four themed floors and an 11,000-square-foot junior ballroom for meetings, presentations and dining for groups up to 300. The center also offers technology such as multisite video conferencing and high-definition display systems.

The facilities feature an 11,577-square-foot kitchen and the capacity to serve a plated dinner for up to 5,000 guests.

Levy offers menus of seasonal ingredients with a focus on local flavors, and works with local vendors such as Cleveland-based Ohio City Pasta and Huron’s Chef’s Garden Farms. Menus also have vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options. 

“With innovation at the forefront of the Center, and the focus on technology, collaboration and convenience, we look forward to bringing our creative, restaurateur mindset and deep industry expertise to the table. This will be a forum for business unlike any other,” said Andy Lansing, president and CEO of Levy Restaurants. 

Interviewed for this story: Jim Bennett, (216) 920-1437; Andy Lansing, (312) 664-8200

VEE Corporation has announced two new promotions. Kevin Kulas has been promoted to the senior vice president of Booking & Promotion. He joined VEE Corp in 2005 as director of Booking and most recently served as Sr. VP of Booking. Before his time with VEE Corp, Kulas worked in the Minneapolis offices of Live Nation as Marketing manager. He also served as Live Nation's Minneapolis director of Finance and Operations, and director of event analysis at Target Center. Jane O’Hara has been promoted to VP of Marketing & Communications. She first joined the VEE Corp marketing team in 2001 and held a number of positions through 2008. She returned to the company in July 2011 as director of Marketing.

Shani Tate, Sprint Center, Kansas City, Mo.; Trenzio Turner, Sanders/Wingo Advertising; Hanna Bolte, Mun2; and Gabriel Reyes, Reyes Entertainment spoke during the EAMC conference in Austin. (VT Photo)

REPORTING FROM AUSTIN, TEXAS — Marketing to the growing Hispanic and African-American markets requires authenticity, enjoys great loyalty and pays off big time because these segments of the U.S. population are highly active and spend a lot of money.

That was the major takeaway from a session on How to Leverage Your Multicultural Marketing & Publicity for Events during the Event & Arena Marketing Conference here June 12-15. “Nothing endears you more to Hispanic audiences than not being afraid of them,” said Hanna Bolte, Mun2.

Bolte joined Shani Tate, Sprint Center, Kansas City, Mo.; Trenzio Turner, Sanders/Wingo Advertising; and Gabriel Reyes, Reyes Entertainment on the panel.

“Latinos have gone mainstream,” Reyes advised. “They’re using mobile devices. And for the first time, young versus old has reached a tipping point. Non-Hispanic whites are not reproducing themselves so the young population is multicultural, with the lead being Hispanics.”

Panelists agreed that Spanish Americans are the largest, fastest growing and youngest segment of the U.S. population. That does not mean it’s time to ignore the Baby Boomers, but it is time to make way for multicultural youth.

The ideal marketing scenario is affinity versus ethnicity or language, Reyes said. Some younger Hispanics prefer English but will “always be bilingual.”

Reyes Entertainment has introduced AugTag, a geo location, media-sharing mobile device that tells adopters what’s going on nearby. The icon is floating in midair on the mobile device. Users tap on the icon and it gives them a message targeted to their preferences. Demographics and technology go hand-in-hand, Reyes said.

There is a viable Hispanic market everywhere now and they are wired and they are young. To reach them, “don’t just translate the message – multiculturalize it,” he said. Bolte said Mun2’s average audience member is 29, Mexican American, with a $38,000 average household income. “We specialize in reality programming for the young Hispanic,” she said.

Turner addressed the African American market of 39.5 million people, 13 percent of the population. Half of them live in the Southeast.

“They are early adopters of technology and are highly engaged online and on phones. Relevant cultural messaging is important, as are relationships between the brand and the culture,” Turner said.

Twitter is the way to build the database with young African Americans, Turner said.

Hispanics relate to outdoor advertising– transit wraps, grassroots marketing and street festivals, Reyes suggested. Coupons and prizes and family incentives are big. It needs to be done face to face, he said.

Reyes also recommended venues seeking to influence the Hispanic market put together an event at the arena for Hispanic community leaders.

Bolte added that syndicated shows may air in a venue’s market. “Atlanta popped up in a big way for us,” she said of a Hispanic subculture where it might not be expected.

With all groups like these, “cultural relevance is deep into why am I choosing to engage with you,” Turner said, to which Hanna added her ditto. “Authenticity of language, look, walk and talk” were her recommendation. “They have a story.”

She also noted marketing could vary according to subculture – are they Columbian, Cuban, Dominican? But slowly everything is blending together. “As long as you try, the reality is the door is wide open,” she said

Hispanics are very active on Twitter and Facebook, which are great marketing tools when expecting a big walkup, which a lot of times is the case with Hispanics. “They will come with their family and at the last minute,” Bolte said.

Hispanics also exhibit a “high loyalty factor,” she added, a marketing insight which should be useful. And it’s all about family entertainment. “Grocery shopping is a family event and takes hours. They are not just buying groceries. It’s social. Try setting up a booth at the local market.”

Turner also recommended consistent engagement and a consistent marketing hum throughout the year. If a venue is engaged with the market all year, any particular promotion will have a head start. “They spend a lot of money; it pays off.”

Interviewed for this story: Trenzio Turner, (512) 469-5117; Hanna Bolte, (818) 622-4088; Gabriel Reyes, (512) 686-1488
 

Acrobatics during Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour.

Cirque du Soleil is successful in Asia. The company's Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour grossed more than $13.5 million in its 12 shows at Osaka-Jo (Japan) Hall. High ticket prices helped build the big gross, with seats starting at $123. The tour heads to Taipei (Taiwan) Arena on June 28, then to Olympic Park in Seoul, Korea, July 10.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers grossed more in one show at Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario, than in six shows at The Fonda in Los Angeles. The Canadian show on June 18 grossed more than $700,000 with ticket prices ranging $32-$120; whereas tickets for the smaller venue provided a more intimate venue and had a higher price tag of $79-$130. Both shows were co-promoted by Goldenvoice and AEG Live. The group heads to Summerfest at Marcus Amphitheater in Milwaukee, Wis., June 28, then to Target Center in Minneapolis the next night.


HOT TICKETS is a weekly summary of the top acts and ticket sales as reported to VT PULSE. Following are the top 20 concerts and events, the top 5 in each seating capacity category, which took place between June 5-26.